June 10, 2004 @ 10:26 am

Book Talk: Check It While I Wreck It - Women and Hip Hop

Nicola A. Menzie

VIBE Online recently spoke with Gwendolyn D. Pough, Assistant Professor in the Women's Studies department at the University of Minnesota, about her new book Chec

VIBE Onlie: What prompted you to write this book? Pough: I think the main thing that prompted me to write this book was the need to bring attention to the way women have used hip hop as a space, and to also bring attention to the way hip hop represents women that, I think, went further than the typical feminist critiques we've seen so far, that just looks at the sexism, misogyny and just labels it bad. I thought it deserved a more nuanced look. VIBE Online: Explain the whole idea of "wreck" as it pertains to your book. Pough: I think typically in hip hop people say "you bring wreck" when you're really good or basically tear it up, and make it known that you're the best. I saw it as a way to look at how women involved in hip hop culture broadly defined-not just hip hop music, but also fans and people working at other venues, like activists-bring wreck. How they disrupt the sexism and misogyny and claim a space for themselves. VIBE Online: Do you consider yourself a hip hop feminist? Pough: Some days. Most days I consider myself a black feminist, hip hop feminist, womanist. To me the labels don't necessarily mean as much as what you do, so being a hop hop feminist, being a black feminist, is about what I do to bring attention to the inequality in order to change that. VIBE Online: How do you reconcile your love for the music with some of the negative lyrics that are often present in the songs? Pough: That is one that I think a lot of people struggle with. I've gotten to the point where if it's truly, truly degrading and disgusting, I can't listen to it. I've always been a person who listens to the lyrics. I know a lot of people like the beat and that's what draws them in and they hear what they're saying and then get disgusted. But the lyrics get me first, so I have to leave some if it alone. VIBE Online: Who are some of the artists that you're listening to right now? Pough: Right now I'm listening to dead prez. I love Lil' Kim. This is what I try to do in my book, to complicate the kind of blatant dismissal of some artists and to think about it in larger terms I think. For what it's worth, given the way black women have been almost groomed to hide issues of sexuality or not talk about them, I think on some level Lil' Kim is refreshing. . Now, for my 12-year-old niece or my 14-year-old niece, maybe not so much. Or maybe this is a point for me to initiate a conversation with her. Lil' Kim might provide a chance for me to talk to a younger sister about some things. To see where her head is at. VIBE Online: What do you think of the so-called negative lyrics and images present in rap music and videos? Pough: I don't hold musicians and artists responsible to bring a level of positivity. I think that we as scholars, as activists, as people who want to do other things are responsible to tap into what hip hop is doing and somehow work with what's positive (and not positive) there, so we can reach the youth. VIBE Online: So you're saying the responsibility doesn't lie with the artists? Pough: If they want to take on that responsibility, go ahead, but we can't keep waiting for some singer or rapper or actor, or someone involved with a certain class and doing what they're doing for reasons that don't necessarily involve outreach and uplift, to do that for us. Would I like to see more positive stuff? Yes, of course, but I don't think, given the state of blacks in America right now, I don't think we can wait. VIBE Online: What do you think of the Spellman women who protested against Nelly's "Tipdrill" video, which eventually dissuaded the artist from following through with the College's bone marrow drive? Pough: I totally agree with the women and their right to express their sentiments about the song. And what I totally don't agree with is the way that the media has kind of almost attacked these women for expressing their feelings about the song and kind of painting things as "all these women aren't allowing Nelly to have this benefit for his sister." Where that wasn't necessarily what they were saying. To me that's just another example of women trying to bring wreck and being stifled for that. VIBE Online: In your book you spend some time on Queen Latifah's groundbreaking 1994 hit "U.N.I.T.Y. (Who You Calling A Bitch?)." Ten years later, you have Missy Elliot flipping the script with the term bitch. What do you think about that? Pough: I think that this is another place where we need to keep another critical read of it because lots of people now are reclaiming bitch. There's a magazine. I collect these bitch magnets nowÂ… In some instances it's still a negative thing, but there's something to be said for reclamation and reclaiming terms. And it does take away some of the bite, not all of it, because I think there're other words like-even we though we use it all the time, we hear it all the time in hip hop, a word like "nigga" and then we say "nig-gah." Â…But something like bitch and the way Missy reclaims it as an assertive, you know how she handles her business and she's assertive and, you know, and when she is, people call her that, and she's like "Hey, I am one." I like it.

Article tags: Book, Talk, Check, While, Wreck, Women, And, Hip, Hop 

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